Sylvania



(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 W. H. HOLLAR & A. KENNEDY.

SAFE.

Patented Oct. 5,1897.

INVENTORS:

WITNESSES:

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. H. HOLLAR & A. KENNEDY. SAFE.

No. 591,188. Patented Oct. 5,1897.

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SAFE.

No. 591,183 Patented Oct. 5,1897. N Q m l m $q M 7 @E i h. /;2A a m. Rn;

WITNESSESQ Q a INVENTORS:

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SA No. 591,188. Patented Oct. 5,1897.

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(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

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No. 591,188. Patented Oct. 5,1897.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEicE.

\VILLIAM II. IIOLLAR AND ANTHONY KENNEDY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA; SAID KENNEDY ASSIGNOR TO SAID I'IOLLAR.

SAFE.

SPEGIFIC'ATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 591,188, dated October5, 1897.

Application filed February 15, 1897. Serial No. 623,495. (No mode l Toall whom it may concern.- from the arithmetical sum of their addition.

Be it known that we, XVILLIAM II. HOLLAR A comparatively moderate timeof uninterand ANTHONY KENNEDY, of Philadelphia, in rupted attack will,practically, always suffice the State of Pennsylvania, have inventedcerfor the penetration of any number of such 55 tain new and usefulImprovements in Burlayers or elements as may be consistent withglar-Proof Safes, whereof the following is a ordinary limitations ofstructure. Blocks of specification, reference being had to the acmetalhave also been suggested for the purcompanying drawings. pose, but undersuch conditions that each In said drawings, Figure 1 representsaperblock was a structural element capable of in- 60 1o spective view ofa typical safe embodying our dividual attack or penetration or removal,as improvements, the dimensions, of course, as in the case of layers.The same total mass well as some of the details, being arbitrary in ofmaterial, if integrated, can be made to prethis as well as in the otherfigures. Fig. 2 is sent a resisting power greatly in excess of a partialperspective view of such safe with the mere addition of the number ofsmall 65 one of the sides entirely removed and with units, since theelement or unit of the structhe top displaced, in order to show inperture can be made in itself too massive to adspective the under sidethereof. Fig. 3 is a mit of being removed as a whole within anysectional view on an enlarged scale, the plane reasonably possiblelimits of attack, and the of section being indicated by the dotted linespenetration and removal of a part of the ele- 7o 3 3 in Fig. 1. Fig. 4is a longitudinal secments sufficient to afford access to the intetionalview on the same scale as Fig. 3, the rior may be made alike practicallyimpossible plane of sectionbeing indicated by the dotted within suchlimits. For example, it is well lines 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a view onthe known thataburglar can impair the hardness same scale as Figs. 3 and4, portions of the of a layer of steel sufficiently to penetrate it, 75figure being represented as broken away, so and after removing enough ofit to expose as to show details at different levels. Fig. 6 the nextlayer can repeat the process throughis a detail view of the interiorframing repreout, successive exposures being obtained with sented apartfrom the remaining members of comparative facility. So, also, in thecase of the structure to which it belongs, the scale of blocks, if thesecuring devices of an individ- 8o this figure being the same as that ofFig. 1. ual block or unit be successfully attacked it Fig. 7 is a detailview of one of the walls, illuscan be removed bodily and access thusobtratin g certain structural features which may tained. be employed.Our invention is addressed to the remedy- Before proceeding to describein detail a ing of these objections, and in carrying out 85 3 5preferred method of mechanical construction our invention we select aparticular material embodying our invention we would pointto which ispeculiarly adapted to the desired certain features of novelty which inone sense purpose, the disposition of such material in are irrespectiveof structural details. substantially integral elements of massiveOrdinarily, safes are built up of successive character and the definitecombination of 0 o layers of steel or other similar material, each theseelements in a structure whose parts are layer being in effect astructural element incompletely interlocked and secured in posidependentof the others and capable of retion by internally-disposed lockingmembers. moval by a successful attack upon the secur- If the whole sideor top of a vault be comin g devices by which it is held in place.Unposed of a massive slab of steel armor-plate, 5 der thesecircumstances the strength of the Harveyized, for example, on itsexternal and safe-wall is fairly represented by adding tointernalsurfaces, even supposing the hardgether the periods of time required forsucness to be destroyed upon the exterior cessive penetration of theseveral layers or throughout a given region, (and this process elementswhich compose it, since these eleis rendered more difficult by the factthat the I03 ments do not, strictly speaking, combine and material isdisposed in an integral mass of produce a total result greater than ordifferent high conducting power for heat,) penetration cannot beaccomplished until the hardness of the interior portion is alsodestroyed, and as no extended exposure of this part can be obtainedwithout bodily cutting away the thickness until it is reached thedifficulty of drill- Even assuming penetration to be successfullyaccomplished, however, so that an explosive can be introduced, the safewill resist anything short of an enormous and practically prohibitorycharge, the individual elements themselves having a very high resistingpower, being so massive as not to be easily displaced through their moreweight, and the means employed for combining them being such that eachinterlocking element possesses per unit of area practically the maximumstrength of the element which it secures, the ultimate interlockingelement or elements being sustained in position by internally-disposedlocking members.

We will now proceed to describe a typical embodiment of our invention byreference to the drawings.

WVherever the conditions of size and the 4 surrounding inclosure orbuilding permit .A (see Figs. 2 and in its upper face running parallelwith the sides, but terminating short of the extreme ends of the plate.The

. cross-section of these grooves maybe square,

as indicated, and the distance from the outer wall of the groove to theoutside face of the bottom slab A should be equal to the width and depthof the groove itself, the intention being, in this method ofconstruction, that the groove should be just half the width of theintended side slab O or c. Grooves a, parallel to the ends, are alsoformed in the upper face of the slab A, said grooves merging into theside grooves A and being of the same depth.

The cross-section of the end grooves a is substantially rhomboidal, boththeinner and outer walls thereof being inclined and the outer wall beingundercut, so as to permit the formation of a dovetail joint with theentering member of the end slabs. The distance from the top of the outerwall of each groove a to the extreme outer edge of the end of the bottomslab A and the inclination of said wall are such that the two members ofthe.

dovetail are of equal cross-section and have the same relation to thethickness of the respective slabs. The depth of the end grooves I a isthe same as that of the side grooves A, so that the bottom surface ofthe entire rec tangular groove is substantially flush, but the width ofthe end grooves a exceeds that of the side grooves A, and by reason ofthe inward inclination of said inner wall a trapezoidal space isafforded for a locking member a which will be hereinafter adverted to.Thus a continuous rectangular groove is formed in the upper. surface ofthe bottom slab A running parallel to the sides and ends of said slab,the bottom of the groove being flush throughout and the walls of theside grooves being vertical, while those of the ends are inclined, theouter walls of the end grooves being undercut and the inner wallssubstantially parallel thereto.

The end slabs B and b are similar to one another, except thatone of themmay contain a door E, which may be of any desired construction, andsince it forms no part of the present invention may be disregarded. Inthe general description, owing to the similarity of detail, only one endslab b will be completely described.

On the inner face of the slab 1) vertical grooves b are formed adjacentto the sides and extending in depth substantially half the thickness ofthe slab. These grooves are trapezoidal in cross-section, the outer wallof the slab being undercut, as indicated at b so as to afford a dovetailjoint with a corresponding member of the side slab to be describedhereinafter, the dovetail being characterized bythe same relation to thethickness of the slabs as in the previous instance. Horizontal shoulders12 b, respectively, are formed on the exterior of the slab 1) near thetop and bottom thereof, said shoulders being prolonged around thecorners at each end, so as to cut off the outer walls of'the grooves I)both at top and bottom. The depth of these shoulders is substantiallyone-half the thickness of the end slab I) along that portion of theouter face which corresponds with the distance between the extreme outerlimits of the grooves 12 but beyond said limits (by reason of theprolongation of the shoulders around the corners) the depth of theshoulders is equal to the total thickness of the slab b. The effect ofthe bottom shoulder is to leave a projecting flange b at the bottom, andthe outer face of this flange is inclined outwardly, as indicated at b,so as to interlock with the correspondingly undercut wall a of thegroove a in the bottom slab. A projecting flange b is also formed by theshoulder b near the top of' the slab b, but the outer face of thisflange is vertical, while the inner face 12 is undercut or inclined, theinclination being prolonged downward, so that the total vertical extentof the undercut face is twice the height of the outer face of the flange6 As the result of this prolonged undercutting a shoulder 12 is formedon the inner face of the slab.

Corresponding capital letters with similar numerals indicate similardetails upon the other end slab 13.

It will be seen that inasmuch as the end grooves a in the bottom slab Aare wider than the flange b of the end slab the end slab can be lowereduntil its flange 11 rests upon the bottom of said groove, and then bymeans of the wedge-piece a can be forced outwardly until the dovetailedface I) interlocks with the correspondingly-inclined dovetailed wall aof the groove. Thus so long as the wedge-strip a remains in position theend slab cannot be lifted away from the bottom slab.

The side slabs will now be described, and as they are also similar toone another only one thereof will be described in detail.

Along each end of the slab o a vertical shoulder a is formed, the depthof said shoulder corresponding to the distance between the outer face ofthe end slab and the outer wall of the groove 1). The projecting flanges0 formed by the shoulders upon the side 0, are undercut upon the outerface, as indicated at 0 thus forming dovetail flanges which fit snuglywithin the vertical dovetailed grooves Z) and B of the end slabs b andB. A horizontal shoulder c is formed along the outer face of the sideslab 0, near the bottom thereof, thus leaving a projecting flange c ofrectangular cross-section and of the same dimensions as the side grooveA of the bottom slab. A similar horizontal shoulder 0 is formed alongthe outer face of the side slab 0, near the top thereof, leaving anupwardly-projecting flange 0 The width of said shoulder and the heightof said flange are each equal substantially to one-half the thickness ofthe side wall, but the inner face of the flange is undercut, asindicated at a the inclination being prolonged downward to double theheight of the flange and terminating at a horizontal shoulder o The corresponding members upon the other side slab O are designated bycorresponding capital letters with similar numerals. The sides can thusbe lowered into position after the end slabs have been placed in theirrespective positions, since the dovetailed flanges which run along theends of each side slab will slide vertically into the dovetailed groovesof the end slabs, and as the bottom flange of each side slab isrectangular in cross-section it is admitted into and fits snugly withinthe corresponding side groove A of the bottom slab.

The structure thus formed now only lacks the top, but before proceedingto describe the same it will be noted that as thus far put togetherevery part, excepting the side slabs, is interlocked, so as to beincapable of movement in any direction unless the dovetailed joints beactually broken. The side slabs themselves are incapable of any movementexcept a vertical one.

The top slab D is similar in form to the bottom one, and has acontinuous rectangular groove formed in its under surface by end groovesd and side grooves D, running par allel, respectively, to the ends andsides. The

cross-section of each of said grooves, however, is trapezoidal, andwhile the thickness of the outer walls 1) of the side and d of the endgrooves corresponds to the width of the shoulders b 13 upon the endslabs and c C upon the side slabs the width of the grooves d and Dconsiderably exceeds the width of the flanges b B and 0 0 formed at thetop of the side and end slabs, so as to permit the entrance of theinterior locking member (1 along the ends and D along the sides. Saidlocking members consist of strips of rhomboidal cross-section, the widthof the strip being equal to the total depth of the groove and thethickness of the strip being just sufficient to completely fill theinterspace between the inner walls of the grooves and the inner undercutfaces of the flanges upon the side and end slabs. The insertion of theselocking members is permitted by reason of the fact that the inclinedwalls 0 C b B upon the inner face of the sides and ends is prolongeddownward to a distance equal to twice the depth of the groovesthemselves, so that the end strips (1 can be inserted by placing them insidewise to rest upon the shoulders 19 and then pushing them upwarduntil they have completely filled the interspaces of the end grooves inthe top slab and are consequently flush with the under surface thereof.A similar method of insertion is pursued with the side strips D whichare placed upon the shoulders c and then pushed upward until theycompletely fill the interspaces of the side grooves in the top slab. Itwill be observed that so long as these locking-strips d D remain inposition the top'slab is completely interlocked with both the end andthe side slabs, and thus incidentally the side slabs are locked againsteven vertical movement, since they cannot be lifted off without thedestruction of the dovetailed joint between the top and end slabs, norcan it be lifted off independently of the sides and ends without thedestruction of the entire dovetailed joints therewith. A completeinterlocking structure is therefore presented.

To retain the locking members in position, we provide an interiorframework, which is shown isolated in Fig. 6, the various parts being,however, represented in cross-section in Figs. 3, 4L, and 5. Saidframework consists of angle-bars F F ff, which constitute the bottomframe, G G g g, which constitute the uprights, and H H h h, whichconstitute the top frame. They may be beveled at the corners, as shown,so as to be capable of being fitted together from the interior of thevault after the slabs and their locking-pieces are placed in position,and are preferably continuous, as shown, with the exception of onepiece, such as 7L, which, if the last to be inserted, should besectional, in order to permit the parts to be placed in position. lVehave indicated the middle portion thereof, 75 as adapted to be insertedafter the beveled end portions of the bar have been placed in position.

It may be bolted or otherwisesecured. The selection of this particularbar is of course arbitrary, and, in fact, while the construction of thebars in the manner indicated, so as to fit completely together by meansof bevels throughout, is theoretically correct we do not consider it ofgreat practical importance, since the only function of these bars is toretain the locking members in position, and this may be accomplishedwith less elaboration of the framework than we have shown. As theinterior is practically inaccessible, it is obvious that comparativelylight retaining devices will sulfice to hold the locking members c atthe bottom against upward displace.- ment and the locking members 61 Dfrom droppingorbeingforceddownward. Whether such displacement beprevented by a continuous inner framework or by other devices adapted toserve the same purpose, it will be seen that the vault thus constructedis practically an integral structure, and that while bolts or othersecuring devices may be em.- ployed as adjuncts in connection with theseveral elements, they are not essential to the integrity of thestructure as a whole. Complete interlocking of the several elements orunits by members which are of such extent as that each pair possesses aunited strength equivalent to the total strength of the elementsthemselves prevents the separation of any two elements by a less forcethan is required to destroy substantially the whole element, and thedisposal of the material in elements which are individually massivepresents the maximum resistance to attack, since, unlike walls which areconstructed by the application of layers or built up of numerous blocks,penetration cannot be attained by a series of similar attacks uponindividual members, but each element may be said to present the totalresistance of the whole structure.

It is proper, of course, to recognize the fact that in the constructionof very large vaults the formation of each of the described elements inan absolutely single mass may not be practicable within reasonablelimits, and hence we contemplate the formation of an element or unit insections; but the underlying principle of construction, to which ourinvention will then still adhere, is the preservation of a distinctlylarge mass for each section. Thus in Fig. 7 we have illustrated such asectional element, (without the details of the locking parts, the slabbeing formed in two sections L L which fit together by means ofproperly-flanged adjacent faces Z Z, which interlock and are duly seamedtogether,

To exactly define the term massive as applied to the individual elementsis of course diflicult, for obviously at some point a reduction in thesize of the sections will result in a structure whose elements wouldpossess no greater resisting. power than is afforded by old andwell-known types of block or layer construction. Adherence to theprinciple which we have endeavored to express will, however, point outthe practical guide to con.- struction and also the practical meaning ofour claims, it being of the essence of the invention that the elementsshould be so massive as not to be bodily removable by anything short ofmachinery, as distinguished from hand labor or united human efiorts.Such machinery is obviously applicable in constructing the safe, butobviously not within the practical range of possible unlawful attack.

l/Ve disclaim as old the use of blocks, broadly considered, and wedisclaim as old the use of dovetails, broadly considered, as a method ofuniting structural elements. 011 the other hand, we do not restrictourselves to the particular and specific details whereby theinterlocking of the several members is effected, it being only essentialthat those of the interlocking members which are the ultimate or finalones in the process of erection of the structure, and-therefore inthemselves independently disposable, shall be secured in position bylocking members applied from within.

lrVe use the term safe in a sense .broad enough to include a vault orother strong chamber. We call attention to the fact that the applicationof the terms end and side to the slabs respectively thus designated isin a certain sense arbitrary, since the details of construction of theflanges and grooves set forth, and particularly referred to in the thirdclaim hereof, may be transposed, and hence we do not wish to beunderstood as limiting ourselves, by the employment of the aforesaidterms, to the exact arrangement shown.

We claim- 1. As an improvementin safe construction, the combination ofsubstantially integral and massive top and bottom, side and end elements of steel armor-plate; and interlocking flanges and grooves at thelines of junction of said elements, certain of the grooves beingundercut and of greater width than the cor-.

respondingly-shaped flanges, and locking members within the safe in thespaces thus formed and firmly locking said top, bottom, ends and sidestogether against separation in any direction, the combined strength ofthe pairs of flanges being not substantially lessthan the total strengthof the individual elements, whereby a practically integral structure isobtained, substantially as set forth.

2. As an improvement in safe construction,

the combination of substantially integral and massive top and bottom,side and end elements of steel armorplate; interlocking flanges andgrooves at the lines of junction of said elements, certain of thegrooves being undercut and of greater width than thecorrespondingly-shaped flanges whereby lockin spaces are formed withinthe safes, the combined strength of the pairs of flanges being notsubstantially less than the total strength of the elements themselves;locking members or strips in 'the said locking -spaccs whereby lateralseparation of adjacent flanges is prevented; and interior retainingdevices adapted to hold said locking members in position, substantiallyas set forth.

3. The combination of the bottom slab,having side grooves of rectangularcross-section and undercut end grooves; the end slabs, having projectingbottom flanges conforming to the undercut faces of the end grooves, andhaving top flanges with internally overhanging faces, and side groovesof rhomboidal cross-section; the side slabs, having bottom flanges ofrectangular cross-section, top flanges with inwardly overhanging facesand end flanges conforming to the trapezoidal

